Scott Hanko
The Outpost
Disney had grandiose dreams of filling World Showcase with a multitude of nations. There were even plans for an outer ring of countries if ever the promenade filled to capacity. But alas, this didn’t come to pass. Epcot opened with nine countries and was later joined by Norway and Morocco. But other nations were well along in the planning stages before they were eventually scrapped for various reasons. Some of these included Israel, Spain, and Equatorial Africa. In fact, Equatorial Africa was so far along in planning that it was actually included as a “future project” on the opening day Epcot map. And during the Disney TV special “EPCOT Center: The Grand Opening Celebration” which aired on October 23, 1982, host Danny Kaye interviewed “Roots” author and Project Adviser Alex Haley about this soon to be added pavilion.
The continent of Africa is made up of many poor nations. And building a pavilion at Epcot is an expensive proposition. So Disney proposed a pavilion that included a collection of African countries, rather than just one. This multi-nation concept would help distribute the costs among several countries. After much searching and many negotiations, Letters of Intent were signed by Kenya, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.
Equatorial Africa was going to be an exciting pavilion and plans for a number of attractions were on the drawing board. The first of two films, “Africa Rediscovered,” would be narrated by Alex Haley and would present the abundant wild life of the area, the history of this region, and discuss modern-day Africa. The second film, “Heartbeat of Africa,” would focus on African music and conclude with a laser show synchronized to the sounds of native instruments.
Another exhibit would feature a large tree house. From its heights, guests would look down on a jungle watering hole bathed in perpetual moonlight. A diorama of trees, boulders, rushing waters, and actual scents of nature would highlight a rear-projection movie of animals advancing to drink in the night.
And of course, no World Showcase pavilion would be complete without live entertainment. So a small amphitheater was to be carved into Disney “rocks” to showcase African dance and music.
The African Pavilion was schedule to open sometime in 1983, but as negotiations continued to drag on, it was decided to build a temporary African placeholder where guests could grab a snack and pick up a souvenir. This was done for two reasons. First, this would pacify guests who had heard about the future Equatorial Africa Pavilion on TV and seen it on Epcot maps. But also, the area between China and Germany is large. Something of interest was needed along this route to help give World Showcase a more completed look.
Unfortunately, the Equatorial Africa Pavilion never came to pass for a number of reasons. First, the political unrest of the region made it difficult to carry on negotiations with the various nations and their less than stable governments. Not to mention, these nations were already squabbling amongst themselves for top billing at the pavilion. Then there was the problem of money. Most African countries simply couldn’t afford or justify spending the amounts needed to build a World Showcase pavilion. However, Disney was able to find one sponsor, a company located in South Africa. But apartheid was a major issue in the 1980’s and Disney thought better of associating itself with this political bombshell. Eventually, the project was shelved. And with the opening of Harambe at Disney's Animal Kingdom, any thoughts of a future African pavilion along the World Showcase promenade probably died as well.
Officially, the African themed area located between China and Germany is known as the Outpost, although many call it African Outpost or Refreshment Outpost. Since the Outpost was constructed as a temporary placeholder, there is precious little information about this area of World Showcase available in books and on the internet. So in order to present you with a backstory, I tried to deduce what the Imagineers were thinking when creating this mini-pavilion by examining the details. Here’s what I came up with.
The Outpost is a small trading center located along a rural roadway somewhere in West Africa. Local merchants bring their wares to the stalls each morning and supply travelers with the necessities of their journey. Part of this story can be seen in the signpost that points the directions to various far-a-way locales – very far-a-way indeed.
African Outpost
Walt Disney World EPCOT Orlando Fl.
The Outpost
Disney had grandiose dreams of filling World Showcase with a multitude of nations. There were even plans for an outer ring of countries if ever the promenade filled to capacity. But alas, this didn’t come to pass. Epcot opened with nine countries and was later joined by Norway and Morocco. But other nations were well along in the planning stages before they were eventually scrapped for various reasons. Some of these included Israel, Spain, and Equatorial Africa. In fact, Equatorial Africa was so far along in planning that it was actually included as a “future project” on the opening day Epcot map. And during the Disney TV special “EPCOT Center: The Grand Opening Celebration” which aired on October 23, 1982, host Danny Kaye interviewed “Roots” author and Project Adviser Alex Haley about this soon to be added pavilion.
The continent of Africa is made up of many poor nations. And building a pavilion at Epcot is an expensive proposition. So Disney proposed a pavilion that included a collection of African countries, rather than just one. This multi-nation concept would help distribute the costs among several countries. After much searching and many negotiations, Letters of Intent were signed by Kenya, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.
Equatorial Africa was going to be an exciting pavilion and plans for a number of attractions were on the drawing board. The first of two films, “Africa Rediscovered,” would be narrated by Alex Haley and would present the abundant wild life of the area, the history of this region, and discuss modern-day Africa. The second film, “Heartbeat of Africa,” would focus on African music and conclude with a laser show synchronized to the sounds of native instruments.
Another exhibit would feature a large tree house. From its heights, guests would look down on a jungle watering hole bathed in perpetual moonlight. A diorama of trees, boulders, rushing waters, and actual scents of nature would highlight a rear-projection movie of animals advancing to drink in the night.
And of course, no World Showcase pavilion would be complete without live entertainment. So a small amphitheater was to be carved into Disney “rocks” to showcase African dance and music.
The African Pavilion was schedule to open sometime in 1983, but as negotiations continued to drag on, it was decided to build a temporary African placeholder where guests could grab a snack and pick up a souvenir. This was done for two reasons. First, this would pacify guests who had heard about the future Equatorial Africa Pavilion on TV and seen it on Epcot maps. But also, the area between China and Germany is large. Something of interest was needed along this route to help give World Showcase a more completed look.
Unfortunately, the Equatorial Africa Pavilion never came to pass for a number of reasons. First, the political unrest of the region made it difficult to carry on negotiations with the various nations and their less than stable governments. Not to mention, these nations were already squabbling amongst themselves for top billing at the pavilion. Then there was the problem of money. Most African countries simply couldn’t afford or justify spending the amounts needed to build a World Showcase pavilion. However, Disney was able to find one sponsor, a company located in South Africa. But apartheid was a major issue in the 1980’s and Disney thought better of associating itself with this political bombshell. Eventually, the project was shelved. And with the opening of Harambe at Disney's Animal Kingdom, any thoughts of a future African pavilion along the World Showcase promenade probably died as well.
Officially, the African themed area located between China and Germany is known as the Outpost, although many call it African Outpost or Refreshment Outpost. Since the Outpost was constructed as a temporary placeholder, there is precious little information about this area of World Showcase available in books and on the internet. So in order to present you with a backstory, I tried to deduce what the Imagineers were thinking when creating this mini-pavilion by examining the details. Here’s what I came up with.
The Outpost is a small trading center located along a rural roadway somewhere in West Africa. Local merchants bring their wares to the stalls each morning and supply travelers with the necessities of their journey. Part of this story can be seen in the signpost that points the directions to various far-a-way locales – very far-a-way indeed.
African Outpost
Walt Disney World EPCOT Orlando Fl.